Hearing ends for suspects in Kansas murdered mothers case

WARNING: Some details in the video and the story below are disturbing and graphic.

TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. (KSNW) -- The preliminary hearing for the final suspect in the case of two murdered Kansas mothers ended on Wednesday. The judge found there is enough evidence for suspect Tad Cullum to go to trial.

A preliminary hearing allows prosecutors to lay out evidence and for a judge to decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial. The hearing was for three of the five suspects in the case: Tifany Adams, Cole Twombly, and Cullum.

The first day of the hearings began with Adams, Cullum, and Cole Twombly going into the Texas County Courthouse for their preliminary hearings. They were each led in separately, in handcuffs, by law enforcement officers. The final two suspects, Cora Twombly and Paul Grice, were also led into the courthouse in the same manner.

Cora Twombly and Grice previously waived their right to a preliminary hearing, and the district attorney filed a motion to have them testify at the preliminary hearings.

The testimony from Cora Twombly and Grice was about how the relationship grew between the suspects, the subgroup they formed called God's Misfits, and what led up to the murders.

Adams also waived her right to a preliminary hearing and a speedy trial on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, suspect Grice wrapped up his testimony about the murders. The owner of the property where the bodies were found took the stand. Then, three Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents testified.

Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley

The victims were Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley of Hugoton. They disappeared in March while they were going to pick up Butler’s children in Oklahoma. Their bodies were found buried in a freezer in April. An autopsy revealed that both women had been stabbed to death.

Tifany Adams

Approximately 20 minutes after Adams arrived on Tuesday, she was escorted out and driven away in a patrol car.

Adams had waived her right to a preliminary hearing and a speedy trial and then left. She is due back in court in April. Her defense team remained in the courtroom to listen to testimony.

Cole Twombly

On Wednesday morning, Cole Twombly did what Adams did on Tuesday. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing and a speedy trial. His next court appearance will be in May.

Cora Twombly

Cora Twombly testified in the preliminary hearing after taking a plea agreement. The district attorney said that part of the plea agreement is that she will plead guilty to first-degree murder and conspiring to commit murder, and she will testify about what she knew of the crimes. In exchange, the DA would recommend a life sentence for her with all of it suspended except for 30 years. Cora Twombly said that part of her plea agreement is to protect her daughter, saying that if she testified, her daughter would not have to.

She told the court that many of the suspects grew up together in the same area of Oklahoma. She said she and her husband, Cole Twombly, were watching videos and learning about their constitutional rights when Grice came by to buy a puppy and joined their conversation. Adams and Cullum later joined the group.

Adams and Cora Twombly began to bond over the struggles they faced as parents. Adams eventually confided about her custody issues with her grandchildren.

The DA said that at the core of this is the discussion of child abuse. Cora Twombly testified that leading up to the murders, Adams and Cullum shared allegations that someone in Butler's family was abusing Adams' grandchildren.

Cora Twombly said that, over time, conversations eventually turned to how to get rid of Butler, the mother of Adams' grandchildren, because Adams did not have enough money to continue fighting for custody.

Cora Twombly testified that a first attempt on Butler's life was going to be on Butler's birthday, but it did not happen. She testified that the group devised a new plan in which she would be the lookout.

She also testified that her husband, Cole Twombly, was not aware of the plan to kill Butler until the week before. That was about the Wednesday before the murders happened. Cora Twombly said that Adams didn't want Cole Twombly to be involved, so he was left out of those conversations. He was brought in when they realized they needed another person to keep watch.

Cora Twombly also testified about the day of the murders. She said that she pulled off on the side of the road and could see two people running between Butler's car and a trailer. She did not specify who that was but later said she could see Grice and Butler struggling on the ground. She said she saw Grice's arm moving up and down. She did not see a knife, but she said that she assumed Grice was stabbing Butler.

She said that the group knew a court-appointed supervisor would be with Butler. She was asked how she felt about it being Kelley. She said that the group wasn't necessarily OK with it but that Kelley was helping Butler, and so, by association, she had to be killed.

Another key takeaway that Cora Twombly shared during her testimony was the reveal of new evidence. According to court documents, prepaid phones bought by Adams last transmitted a signal near the Twombly's home and the property where the bodies were buried. Cora Twombly mentioned during her testimony that two cell phones were inside what she described as an incinerator. Agents with the OSBI went to where she described and matched one of the phones to a burner phone purchased by Adams. Cora Twombly described getting the phones before the murders, along with the stun guns.

Paul Grice

Grice took the stand Tuesday evening and shed some light on how God's Misfits was formed and how Adams convinced him to be involved in the killing of Butler.

Grice testified that God's Misfits started as a religious group that evolved. God's Misfits allegedly contained about 15 people, but four of them, Adams, Cullum, Cora Twombly and Grice, were a subgroup, and the others were not involved in the planning or the murders of Kelley and Butler.

Grice said during his testimony that he connected with Adams after she shared the allegations that her grandchildren were being abused. He said that he was abused as a child. Grice said that Adams used Bible verses and took them out of context, which he fell for. He also said that he did not have any proof of the abuse and that it was his fault for not asking for more proof. However, the people accused of the allegations were minors, so the court documents would have been sealed.

Grice also testified that he had lied to God's Misfits, saying he had previously killed somebody. He said that he told them that he was part of a different group that protected children from sexual abuse and that would "take care" of people. Grice said this eventually evolved, and the first time Adams asked him if he would help kill Butler, he told her he would think about it. When asked again, he said that the narrative had grown and agreed to it.

During his testimony, Grice said that he felt like he was set up to kill both Butler and Kelley. He testified that he stabbed Butler first and then was in the back of the trailer with the women's bodies being driven to the burial site. He said that he panicked when Kelley's eyes started to flutter because he couldn't tell if she was alive or if it was the bumpy roads. He said that he thought about how scared she would be if they put her in the freezer alive, so if she woke up, he decided that he would stab her.

Another thing that Grice stated in his testimony was that after he killed Butler and they were sitting in the middle of a dirt road, Adams walked around and laughed in a way that he had never heard before. He described it as evil.

A plea deal was reached for Grice.

On Wednesday morning, the attorneys for Cullum and Cole Twombly cross-examined Grice. The big topic of discussion was whether Grice is taking responsibility for Kelley's death.

Grice said he did stab her, but he did not admit to being the one who killed her. He said he couldn't be sure. Cullum's attorney argued that the 16 stab wounds on Kelley were from Grice's knife, the same knife that was used to kill Butler, who was stabbed about 30 times. Grice said when he started attacking Butler, a door closed in his brain, and he knew it was wrong but that he was too far in it to stop.

Cullum's attorneys cited a previous interview that Grice did with the OSBI, where he said that Butler "smelled evil and that he had no remorse." Grice said that he was brainwashed to believe evil.

Grice said some of the facts haunt him, and he's had a hard time sleeping.

During his testimony, he also shed some light on why he was not initially arrested with the others.

Grice said he willingly met with law enforcement in April at the Four Corners, an abandoned gas station where Butler and Kelley were supposed to have a supervised custodial meet-up with Adams. After being confronted with forensic DNA and told his name was being thrown around, he confessed. However, there wasn't a warrant for his arrest, so he was allowed to go home on his word that if a warrant was issued, he would return and turn himself, which is what he did.

He also said that he lied during his first two interviews with investigators. He said he may have been drunk during the first interview because he was drinking a lot around that time. Grice said his testimony in court is the truth.

On Wednesday, Grice accepted the plea deal. He said it was to bring closure to the families. Grice also said the only thing discussed as part of a plea agreement is that the death penalty would be taken off the table. In cross-examination, Cullum's attorneys said he was trying to save his own skin. He said, 'My skin's not worth saving.'

Grice also testified he told his wife what happened after the murders. He said her not facing charges was not part of his plea agreement.

Property owner

The next witness called on Wednesday was Jamie Beasley, the owner of the property where the bodies were buried in a freezer. Court documents say the prepaid phones, bought by Adams, last transmitted a signal near the Twombly's home and Beasley's property.

Beasley discussed how Adams and Cullum came to his property on what turned out to be the day before the murders. He said they asked to cut down some trees and offered to bury the trees and some concrete on his land.

He said he did not know exactly where the hole would be dug to bury those things. He had an idea where they would dig the hole, but it was not where the bodies were eventually found.

Beasley said that after he learned of the murders, he became increasingly worried about what Cullum had done on the property. Beasley said he did not take those concerns to law enforcement out of fear.

Butler's family

KSN's Julia Thatcher was in the courtroom on Tuesday and Wednesday for the hearing. During breaks, she spoke to Butler's family.

They told her they were surprised that Cullum's attorney is trying to pin both of the murders on Grice.

They also mentioned that they don't want the prosecutor to seek the death penalty. The family said that death would be the easy way out.

Charges against Adams, Cullum, and Cole Twombly

Adams, Cullum and Cole Twombly face the following charges:

• Two counts of murder in the first degree – deliberate intent
• Conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree – deliberate intent
• Two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body — for allegedly removing both bodies from the original place of death
• Two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse — for allegedly disposing of both bodies underground, which impeded the investigation and resulted in the loss of evidence

In addition, Adams faces two counts of child neglect.